Driverless cars are the future of transportation. These types of cars will allow for the easy transportation of people without the need to take accout for human fatigue. Increasing technological standards along with the development of new programs are allowing for the development of driverless cars with power and complexity never before seen. While driverless cars have been a reality for mulitple years now, the technology to be able to allow them to function is just now being completed.

After maunufactures discovered that it would be too costly to devlop smarter roads, the focus shifted to smart cars, cars capable of driving themselves. Driverless cars would allow for the development of new transportation infrastructure and an upgrade to the traditional way of driving, as well as being more fuel efficient and more enviromentally friendly. Google's own self driving cars have been able to driver over half a million miles without a crash. (Paragraph 2) Here we can see that the technology is there, it just has not been able to be implemented and the law has not caught up to where self driving cars are. People would become better connected in a world occupied by self driving cars. The reliable and more affordable use of transport that allows for the car to continue driving even after the driver has fallen asleep or become fatigued will allow for people to better communicate and be more easily connected to friends and family. New technology, like the "LIDAR" (Paragraph 4) becoming more readily available to the average consumer and not sitting at a price point well out of the average persons reach allows for the driverless car to become more of a reality.

Even looking outside of truly driverless cars, cars that used assisted driving features, like cars made by BMW, GM, or Google, are still capable of helping the driver drive in a more safe manner. Technology has been developed that allows for the driver to be alerted to a hazerdous situation by vibrating the seats, flashing a light, or finding another way to notify the driver. (Paragraph 7) The technology is present to allow self driving cars to function, it just needs some fine tuning. Cars that have been made by these manufactures "... can steer, accelerate, and brake themselves," (Paragraph 7)

It is important to understand why driverless cars propose a danger to us, however, because the benefit of an automated car is not gained without risks and challengs. Driverless cars, at this very moment, are not capable of dealing with complicated traffic situations or roadblocks, and this is primarily the argument for why these cars should not be allowed on the open road. Other arguments include the reasoning that the enjoyment is being taken out of driving by allowing a computer to do the driving for you. In regards to that, I respond by saying that cars that will have automated features will also be able to be driven. Most are not completely autonomous and will allow for the driver to take control at their leisure. In a hypothetical world where the autonomous car drives perfectly in all conditions, the driver would still be able to take control of the car and drive as s/he pleases and continue the drive as they wish it to be driven. Some people might see a driverless car as a loss of freedom or a loss of control, but a better way to observe the idea of a driverless car is to think of it as a car, just like any other, with a few extra features; and one of those features happens to be that the car is capable of driving itself. Another argument not stated in the document was the issue of misuse of the self driving car. A major trajedy in our society is that people would possibly try to use its autonomous abilities to achieve a terrorist goal. A driverless car could be used as a weapon for a group not willing to lose their own members in a fight, but this is still not a reason to stop the development of new technology. We as humans can not let fear stand in our way and give up on our evolutionary duty because we are afraid that someone else will hurt us for it. We are required as competent members of an advanced society to continue to devlop this technological marvel and use it for the betterment of mankind. Of course evil will still exist, and it always has and always will. It is important that we continue to develop, to move on in the face of danger and not let fear take hold of us.

With self driving cars, the possibilities are endless. We have the power to travel anywhere and drive anywhere without worrying about fatigue or losing your way. We could leave Chicago one night, get a good nights rest, and wake up in Washington D.C., parked at your hotel. A fully developed automated car society would help to reduce the risk of collisions and would reduce emmissions that are harmful to the enviroment. Advanced technology has become more readily available to the consumer in recent years and allows for the driverless car to be cheaper and easier to produce than ever before when technology that these cars required was but a dream. Driverless cars could allow for a safer society that is more connected with transport that is cheaper and more reliable than that of the traditional car. Greater fuel efficiency and the lower enviromental impacts would promote the development of these cars by companies wishing to see a better world. The self driving car is the next step in the automobiles evolution.  